Main Highlights:
Zcash and Dash are spearheading a post-crash “privacy revival,” reversing years of decline.
Monero missed the rally due to significant exchange delistings.
Privacy-centric cryptocurrencies, Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH), emerged as top gainers following the Oct. 9–10 crypto market crash that wiped out over $20 billion in positions.
As of Thursday, ZEC had surged more than 66% from its low on Oct. 9 to $246, marking nearly 350% growth year-to-date (YTD), including a 230% rise in October.
DASH recovered by over 65% since the crash on Oct. 9, trading near $50 as of Thursday, with about 150% returns over the past month.
Litecoin (LTC), which introduced a privacy upgrade known as “Mimblewimble” in 2021, has also seen a rise of over 80% from its recent lows, although it remains about 7.50% down for the year.
This surge in prices has led some traders to declare a so-called “dinosaur coin season,” where older coins (pre-2017) with a history of underperformance are witnessing a bullish comeback.
But what is driving this movement?
Naval Ravikant’s Support for Zcash
The total market cap for privacy coins has surged by 36.70% since Oct. 1, exceeding $7 billion as of Thursday, according to Messari’s database of 151 such tokens.
The rally for privacy coins began after renowned investor Naval Ravikant described Zcash as an “insurance against Bitcoin” in an Oct. 1 post, causing ZEC to jump over 60% in a day.
Following the Oct. 9 crash, which eliminated billions in leveraged positions, the altcoin market reached its most oversold levels since April, setting the stage for dip buyers.
The sharp rebound of Zcash, driven by oversold conditions and Ravikant’s endorsement, indicated to traders that the privacy coin market was primed for recovery.
The result was a traditional relief rally, where privacy tokens experienced significant gains.
Related: ShapeShift enhances privacy focus with Zcash shielded support
Monero (XMR), the leading privacy coin by market cap, did not partake in the sharp increases due to its delistings on most major exchanges, including Binance and OKX, as well as several European exchanges, because of its opaque design.
These delistings have significantly impacted its liquidity and visibility, restricting its potential growth during market rebounds.
Technical Reversals After Extended Downtrends
The recently surging “dino” coins are breaking free from long-standing downtrends, indicating a long-awaited momentum shift. This mirrors XRP’s breakout from a seven-year consolidation trend in November 2024, resulting in over a 630% increase.
Zcash and Dash have escaped from multi-year falling wedge patterns, a bullish reversal setup often preceding strong upward momentum.
ZEC confirmed its breakout this month after surpassing the $200–$220 resistance level, which has now been converted into a new short-term support. This marks the conclusion of a seven-year downtrend and opens the possibility for a rally towards $490 in the upcoming months.
DASH has already begun its breakout phase, reclaiming the $50 mark for the first time since early 2024.
A sustained close above this level, further validated by DASH’s 50-month EMA (the red wave), could confirm the wedge breakout, setting targets for $760 or higher in the coming months or years.
DASH’s retreat from the 50-month EMA resistance may compromise or delay the multi-month breakout setup.
LTC continues to sit within an ascending triangle pattern, marked by a series of higher lows since 2022.
It has consistently failed to break above the $100-150 range. However, a decisive breakout above this resistance could initiate a measured move toward the 1.0 Fibonacci retracement level near $375, marking a complete recovery of its previous cycle losses.
Altogether, these patterns reinforce the “privacy revival” theme, with ZEC and DASH at the forefront.
This article does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading decision carries risk, and readers should conduct their own research.
